High School Memories Begin Soon

Wow, New Years Eve already!  I spent all of this year focused on my own studies and health.  This month I am proud to say that I have completed my Diploma of Counselling and have applied to University to continue forward with a Bachelor of Health Sciences.  This gives me a few precious months to relax and get some crafting done!

At the end of my school year I completed a project in anticipation of my son starting his first year at high school.  The pattern for this project comes from the talented Kathy Orta and is called A Year In Review.

This is a gorgeous pattern, creating a HUGE album that has plenty of pockets and large areas for big photos, school certificates and awards.

Inside are 3 different styles of pages, repeated 4 times, for a total of 12 pages. One for each month.

The thing that I loved most about this album is the massive amounts of storage. It can fit full report cards, drawings, pictures and awards.

The perfect way to document my little monkey's achievements during his first year of high school!

Masculine Mini Album

My goodness it's so hot here in Adelaide!  The longest, hottest summer in record.  My craft room is an add-on to the original house with a tin roof, no insulation and no air conditioner.  Needless to say its awful in there at the moment!

Despite the heat, I have been working on a few albums.  This is one I did for my best friend's birthday.  He is an excellent photographer and I would love to see him take his photos from the purely digital format that he currently uses to actual printed photographs in a real album.

This album is my version of Kathy Orta's December Daily album.  If you are interested you can read my first post on how I reworked her measurements and come up with a slightly different style of album.

I used black envelopes and cards by Quill to make the album, and the designer papers are all from the Timeless Vintage paper stack by Kaisercraft.

As I mentioned in my other post I reworked the dimensions of the back and front covers to allow for a little extra space in the middle there.  Kathy Orta's project has all those envelopes and pages interleaving and overlapping in the middle and I felt there would be too much bulk.  You can see from the photos above and below how nicely that extra girth has worked out.  The pages and inserts butt up nicely against each other, without creating additional bulk.

Below you can see what the album looks like when opened up.  There is a phenomenal amount of storage space, not just for photos but for all the little bits of tickets, tokens and other ephemera that we collect that just doesn't fit in a regular album.

Inside there are also literally dozens of tags and pockets with inserts that can hold extra photos or journalling.

My friend was totally thrilled about the album, he loved the idea of filling it with photos and memorabilia and handing it down to his son with the hopes that it would be a little interactive journey of discovery that he could share.

Kathy Orta December Daily Reworked - C6 size

I just love, love, love Kathy Orta's patterns (if you are familiar with her videos you will know she uses the phrase 'love, love, love' quite a bit), so when she published her free December Daily mini album I couldn't resist making one of my own.

If you want to watch the preview of her album you can view it on You Tube here.

The envelope and card kits she uses come from Michael's.  The cards measure 5" x 6 1/2", with the matching envelope measuring 7 1/4" x 5 1/4".  These are not available in Australia, and the closest we can get is the C6 card size which measures 105mm x 150mm (pretty close to 4 1/8" x 5 7/8") with the matching envelope measuring  4 1/2" x 6 5/16".  As you can see that is a sizable difference, which if course is going to mean an adjustment throughout to many of the measurements.

So this post follows Kathy Orta's instructions but converting them down to a C6 size for those of us who can only get access to that.  I am sure you are all capable of doing this without someone telling you how, this is mostly so when I make another one (and I plan to make several), I have all the measurements recorded.  

This mini will be smaller than the original so on most pages and page inserts it won't take a standard 4" x 6" photo, but it will take the 3.5" x 5" print which is the next size down.  Of course you can always custom size and crop your own photos according to your own needs, but the 3.5" x 5" (or 9 x 13cm) print size option should be readily available worldwide in any photo store.  You can, however, put a simple mat on as many of the pages as you want, which will (just) take a 4" x 6" photo.

 

December Daily Part One

You can watch Kathy Orta's original video on how to make part one of the December Daily here.  Watching her video is essential for understanding how the album is constructed, I am merely giving my measurements for using a smaller C6 size envelope and card.

Card Page One

The measurements for this page remained the same as the original.  Go ahead and make the cuts at 2"and trim down to 3".  Trim the corners as desired.  Adhere together as shown and then trim off 1/2" off the side that doesn't have flaps.  Your card should measure 3 5/8" across.  This gives room for the hidden hinge binding and still allows your card to fit in nice and flush.

Card Page Two

Trim the card at 1/2" to the right hand side of the scored edge.  Keep the piece you trimmed off and put it aside to make a pocket later.

Envelope Page One

Go ahead and seal the envelope as instructed.  Trim a sliver off one end, and then trim the other end so that the envelope measures 4 1/8" across (the same width as the card).

Envelope Page Two

Adhere the flap of your second envelope to the first envelope page as instructed.  Trim the second envelope so that it too measures 4 1/8" across.

Pocket One

Take the extra piece you trimmed away while making the second card page and trim it so it measures 5 1/8" along the long edge.  When directed, score each edge at 1/2" and adhere as shown to create the pocket.  This creates a pocket 4 1/8" wide (same width as the card) and 3 5/8" high

Twin Pocket (Variation)

I felt that given the reduced overall size of the album that the twin pockets were a bit too small to have any practical function, so I adjusted it to make one large side loading pocket.  I wanted a pocket that measured 6 1/4" x 2 1/4", so I cut a piece of cardstock at 7 1/4" x 2 3/4" and scored at 1/2" on three sides.

 

December Daily Part Two

You can watch Kathy Orta's original video for part two of the December Daily here.  Watching her video is essential for understanding how the album is constructed, I am merely giving my measurements for using a smaller C6 size envelope and card.

The Envelope Pages

Adhere the two envelopes together as shown.  Place envelopes into your paper trimmer and line up so the edge of the envelope is just a smidge over the 5" marker (this is where Kathy lines hers up to the 5 3/4" mark).  This should place the fold line for the envelope flap directly on the half inch marker, giving you a half inch flap when you trim.

In the original version the envelopes are then folded in on each other, and the top facing envelope is trimmed down to 4" in width. This is a reduction of 1 1/4".   We are actually going to trim off an extra 1/8" so that when our pages are all folded there is an even 1/2" spacing between the three pages.  So we are going to trim off 1 3/8".  You don't have to, you can keep the original measurement, but I am a kook for symmetry.

Slide the envelope into the trimmer so the bottom facing envelope is being cut and trim so that it is 4 1/8" wide.

The Middle Card Pocket

The original directions tell you to trim off 1/2" off one side, do this by lining up your card fold at the 3 5/8" mark.  Score and assemble as directed.  To attach this page to the envelope pages measure 5 3/8" up from the bottom (instead of the 6" in the original instructions).

The First Pocket

On the inside of the first page is a pocket, the original measures 5" x 5".  Ours will measure a scant 4 1/16" x 3 1/2".  Score on three sides at 1/2" and assemble.

Back Page Pocket

Cut one card in half as directed.  Trim the long side of this piece to generous 5 1/6".  Score at 1/2" on three sides and form a pocket.

Belly Band

For the belly band on the back of the middle page, take the bottom flap that you cut off to make the middle card pocket and score it at 1/4" at each end.

To show you just how versatile this album is, I constructed one that was only three pages .

December Daily Part Three

You can watch Kathy Orta's original video for part three of the December Daily here.  Watching her video is essential for understanding how the album is constructed, I am merely giving my measurements for using a smaller C6 size envelope and card.

First Envelope Page

Adhere the two flaps together as shown.  Trim envelopes down to 4 1/8".  Trim the excess off the flaps so it measures 1/2".

Envelope Half Pages

Seal the envelope as directed. Fold in half and trim along fold line.  Trim a sliver off the closed end of each envelope half, which should make your envelope halves now 3 1/8" wide.

Assembling the two parts

Make a snip in the excess flap as shown at the halfway mark, which will be approx 3 3/16" (this measurement doesn't need to be precise).  Attach the two half pages as shown.

Front Page Pocket/Sleeve (to insert the hidden hinge)

Cut a piece of pattern paper 3" x 7 1/4".  Score half each at each short end and attach as shown.

Pocket on Inner Page

Cut a piece of cardstock 5 1/2" x 5 1/6".  Score at 1/2" on 3 sides and fold to form pocket.  Attach as shown.  As this album is smaller than the original, and it already has so many pockets, I chose to omit the pocket here and simply mat with a piece of card cut at 6 1/4" x 4".  This will allow me to put in a slightly trimmed 6" x 4" photo.

December Daily Hidden Hinge Binding Strip

You can watch Kathy Orta's original video on how to make the hidden hinge part of the December Daily here.  Watching her video is essential for understanding how the album is constructed, I am merely giving my measurements for using a smaller C6 size envelope and card.

The only measurement here that is different is the height of the binding strip, which will be 6 1/4".

December Daily Album Cover

You can watch Kathy Orta's original video on how to make the album cover of the December Daily here.  Watching her video is essential for understanding how the album is constructed, I am merely giving my measurements for using a smaller C6 size envelope and card.

There are three parts to the album cover... the back panel, the front panels and the side spines.

The original back panel is cut at 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" which works out to be 1/2" taller than the envelope used in the original.  We can keep the same proportions.  Our envelopes measure 4 1/2" x 6 5/16".  Because this is the cover and 1/6" of an inch extra to the height of this album won't make any difference we are going to round these proportions up to 4 1/2" x 6 3/8".  So we will cut our back panel piece to measure 6 7/8" x 6 7/8".

The original album front panel cover pieces are cut at 7 3/4" x 6" which works out to be 1/2" taller than the envelope and 3/4" wider than the original envelope.  Once again we can keep these same proportions and cut two panels that measure 5" x 6 7/8".

The original side spine panel pieces measure 7 3/4" x 2".  Ours will measure 6 7/8" x 2".

December Daily Album Cover - My Version

The original album cover is done in such a way that the pages interleave.  I think this creates excess bulk in the centre of the album, we have six pages evenly spaced at either end, but in the centre those six pages overlap creating the bulk of 12 pages.  Depending on how you load your pages this can create too much bulk in the centre, so I widened the cover to allow the pages to sit next to each other, rather than on top of each other.

There are three parts to the album cover... the back panel, the front panels and the side spines.

The original back panel is cut at 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" which works out to be 1/2" taller than the envelope used in the original.  By increasing the width an extra inch to 8 3/4" this allows our finished pages (which measure 4 1/4" each, to sit side by side without overlap.  So for my version I cut the back panel piece to measure 6 7/8" x 8 3/4" (this is an inch wider than the original width).

To compensate for the extra inch width to the back cover, we will add an extra half inch to each front flap, cutting two pieces at 6 7/8 x 5 1/2".

The original side spine panel pieces measure 7 3/4" x 2".  Ours will measure 6 7/8" x 2".

Live Out Loud

Hello again!

I think as crafters we go through creativity spurts where we find our passions ignited by various ideas.  For me, at the moment, it is mini albums.

I followed a pattern by Kathy Orta at Paper Phenomenom.  The pattern was very easy to follow, step by step photos and very clear instructions, I'll definitely be trying a few more from her store.  This is one of the more grandiose projects I have tried and it was quite difficult to photograph well due to the scale, but I hope you get the idea.

The album itself is constructed from chipboard which I covered with manila folders.

The front has a simple but elegant gold clasp to hold it closed, and a small spray of flowers and a pearl bling, both by Kaisercraft.

The edges have all been inked with Tea Stain Distress Ink and all the designer papers come from the Sweet Nothings collection by Kaisercraft.  This side on view shows you the depth of the album.  It's quite slimline, but as you will see shortly there is still a lot of space for displaying photos.

When you open up the sides the first thing you see is a flip style arrangement of three panels.  Each one is 6" x 4" and can easily hold a photo.  Each is also a pocket so small keepsakes can be stored within.

This is the view when the album is open.  Isn't that paper line just gorgeous, I love the colours, which is unusual, orange is not usually my thing!

On the inside sleeve are more pockets for photo mats, the photo above I have removed them so you can see the sleeves, the photo below you can see the mats inserted into the sleeves.

 

When you open up the flip sleeves you see behind the centrepiece of the album, the main photo mat.

 

On the feature mat you can see one of Mo Manning's beautiful images, called Mummu.   I have used a Sizzix die to create the strip of music, which acts as a catch for the photo mat and the coloured image.  The rubber stamp says "'If you ask me what I came to do in this world I will answer you: I am here to live out loud."  I have stamped this onto a clear acetate overlay, so a photo can be placed underneath.

But wait, there's more!  The main photo mat lifts back to reveal...

Tucked away behind the main mat are more 6 x 4 photo mats tucked into sleeves.   The album has a 2 photo mats on each sleeve, and 4 behind the centre piece, for a total of 8 removable photo mats.

 
 

This was the very first stamped image I coloured, digital or otherwise. I did this over a year ago and put it away in a safe place waiting for just the right project.  It's not perfect, but I love it, and it reminds me of my mother, who also is not perfect but I love her too.  I created this is album for her 60th birthday.

 

I am entering this into the following challenges:

 

Mo's Challenge Blog - Singing and Dancing

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Before I let you go, if you haven't heard yet, Christmas Crafting is celebrating it's first birthday, which is being extended, there's a blog hop and prizes so head on over!